foreclosures? (Hilo, Hauula: short sales, real estate, insurance)

[surfagoody]

What up everyone. I just got on this site today and looking for some answers. I'm looking to move back home and am wondering how the foreclosure market is right now? I am from Hauula on the east side of oahu (a country boy). I bought my house in 2000 for 180,000 and sold in 05 for 320000. It was a foreclosed property and needed a lot of work. I tried the mainland thing and am done I'm ready to come home. To bad that same house is now worth 500000. So if anyone could give me the heads up on the current trend on the windward side that would be great.

I understand finding a deal like what I found in 00 is probably not going to happen, but then again, real estate in hawaii can be weird animal.

Option two, the one I think is more likely to result in my moving in the near future is the big island. I know prices are much cheaper on this Island and would like to know what the trend is there preferably the east side. I like plantation homes and have no problem fixing things up or building new. I am a general contractor.

[KonaKat]

In general, there are a lot of REOs and short sales all over the island. Do you know exactly where you would like to live on the BI? Remember lava zones and how they impact mortgages, insurance costs and coqui frog issues. What is your price range? I know from running searches for clients "what if-ing" about the east side, coming up with literally dozens of decent options under $200,000 with 1 to 3 acres, even.

I live and work on the Kona side, but there are several other posters here that live on the east side that will surely post and help you further.

Best wishes in your journey "back home".

[surfagoody]

Thanx for the respond,
I am looking on the east side of the big island not to far from Hilo. I want to be close to the college. By not far I mean 20-40 minutes. Land over a 1/3 acre the more the better but not looking to spend a lot. My wife teaches and I may be teaching as well if construction doesn't pick up. "I'm a contractor."
I am also an avid surfer, fisher, diver, sit on the beach staring at the waterer. So within a short walk of the beach would be nice.
Not wanting to spend much is probably a little vague so I'll start low at up to 100K.
I have done a little research myself and looks like there are a number of lots within that area even a couple homes.

[hotzcatz]

Hilo doesn't have very good beaches. Really nice water washed rocks, not good beaches.

Come over, find a rental, find a job and settle in. We've still got a couple years before we find the bottom of this mess.

There's all sorts of foreclosures going on, but they are still asking way too much money for them after they've been foreclosed on. When we had the last collapse of house prices right after sugar left it was more because of a lack of jobs that the house prices dropped. We are now having a national/global lack of jobs situation so things are gonna keep going down until jobs start popping up.

[Lopaka]

Wait a month or two and you'll see even more deals. The hammer is about to fall harder, and the Federal moratorium (which I admittedly don't know much about, but heard about it on talk radio) is about to expire, or is expiring, and banks will no longer be held back from foreclosing on people's homes. I also heard that the national MLM system was only reporting 30% of foreclosures in the nation to stave off a panic and collapse of the banking system.

Just make sure your financial situation is relatively stable before you make any decison to buy anything. I hear it's going to be a renter's market soon.

[surfagoody]

Thanx lopaka and hotzcatz
Your thoughts on the matter reflect my own. I have some time to kill and can hold out a year or two. Though 2 more winters might drive me insane! I will continue to keep checking for housing updates and reading the latest. You can rarely find the real deals on the MLS and the good one go fast.

About the beach situation, windward oahu has similar topography to hilo side of big island but more sand. What do you guy's recommend for the best of both world?

[R_Cowgirl]

Here's a site with foreclosure stats all over the US
CurrentForeclosures.com - Foreclosure Stats